Street Kids Care Volunteer at Faith
Mission in Elkhart County
Players from organization brave the bad weather to help feed the needy
by TJ Jorgensen, SKS Director
Mission in Elkhart County
Players from organization brave the bad weather to help feed the needy
by TJ Jorgensen, SKS Director
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Elkhart, IN 2/21/09
For the third straight Street Kids Care event, mother
nature threw a curve ball and decided to challenge us
with yet another blistery winter day. With the roads
already causing one player from the Ro-Sham-Bo /
Street Kids team to slide into a ditch, we prepared for
our latest event that took place in Elkhart today:
The Faith Mission project.
Today, several members of the Street Kids/Suburban
organization volunteered their time by serving lunch to
residents of Faith Mission, as well as walk-in visitors
looking for a warm meal. The players also helped by
sorting over 1,000 pounds of canned goods that were donated to the Mission.
The event took a little more than two hours, and everyone that was involved was very excited to be a part of it,
especially Shane Varga of Street Kids/Suburban South, who along with his wife, Amy, presented the idea to me
during the Memorial Bowl last month.
"I just felt that I have lived the majority of my life selfishly and one of the reasons I joined Street Kids a few
years back was so that I can take part in events such as this, in order to make a difference," said Varga.
"I live here in Elkhart so this means a lot to me, personally, to be able to help right here in my community," said
first baseman Mark Hershberger.
"We are new to the organization but I told TJ that we want to
do our part and get involved," said Ro-Sham-Bo/SKS
manager Rich Grundtner, who brought Damian Caffrey and
Todd Marvin from the RSB team with him today.
When you first get to Faith Mission, its no different than
walking into a normal business. There is a front desk,
someone there to greet you and other offices nearby. And
when you walk through the double doors and into the kitchen
area, its still pretty normal, except for the strong resemblance
to a high school lunchroom. But after you are set up, the food
is ready and everyone is in place, things changed.
The doors were opened and the residents of Faith Mission were welcomed into the lunchroom and suddenly
each one of us that were volunteering today realized that this is real life. These are people that are struggling with
some terrible times - whether thats from job losses, home fires that left them with nothing, and even substance
abuse problems - and now find themselves in a situation where they are now relying on Faith Mission to house
them, to feed them and to help them get back on their feet.
"This isn't how I expected my life to turn out," said one resident to me today while thanking us for serving. "But
if it wasn't for places like Faith Mission and people like you guys, I would not be alive."
Standing there today helping to serve food at Faith Mission enabled me to come full circle in my life. When I
was a kid, my mother and sister and I had to stay in a shelter similar to Faith Mission as we battled poverty
growing up in Benton Harbor, Michigan. To be able to come back as someone who has the ability to create an
organization that allows others to help people who I was once a part of, is truly a miracle for me personally.
I am very proud of the volunteers from Street Kids that came out today, including:
Shane Varga
Amy Varga
Dan Garey
Joe Horvath
Jake Underwood
Lanny Fisher
Scott Martin
Jason Jeffery
Mark Hershberger
Josh Taylor
Todd Marvin
Rich Grundtner
Damian Caffrey
Without the help of these people, as well as the others who take part in Street Kids Care, the work we do
would not be possible. I can have the passion, the desire, the will to want to help others, but I can't do it alone.
Each one of you are doing your part to help make a difference in our community and I thank you so much for
that.
For the third straight Street Kids Care event, mother
nature threw a curve ball and decided to challenge us
with yet another blistery winter day. With the roads
already causing one player from the Ro-Sham-Bo /
Street Kids team to slide into a ditch, we prepared for
our latest event that took place in Elkhart today:
The Faith Mission project.
Today, several members of the Street Kids/Suburban
organization volunteered their time by serving lunch to
residents of Faith Mission, as well as walk-in visitors
looking for a warm meal. The players also helped by
sorting over 1,000 pounds of canned goods that were donated to the Mission.
The event took a little more than two hours, and everyone that was involved was very excited to be a part of it,
especially Shane Varga of Street Kids/Suburban South, who along with his wife, Amy, presented the idea to me
during the Memorial Bowl last month.
"I just felt that I have lived the majority of my life selfishly and one of the reasons I joined Street Kids a few
years back was so that I can take part in events such as this, in order to make a difference," said Varga.
"I live here in Elkhart so this means a lot to me, personally, to be able to help right here in my community," said
first baseman Mark Hershberger.
"We are new to the organization but I told TJ that we want to
do our part and get involved," said Ro-Sham-Bo/SKS
manager Rich Grundtner, who brought Damian Caffrey and
Todd Marvin from the RSB team with him today.
When you first get to Faith Mission, its no different than
walking into a normal business. There is a front desk,
someone there to greet you and other offices nearby. And
when you walk through the double doors and into the kitchen
area, its still pretty normal, except for the strong resemblance
to a high school lunchroom. But after you are set up, the food
is ready and everyone is in place, things changed.
The doors were opened and the residents of Faith Mission were welcomed into the lunchroom and suddenly
each one of us that were volunteering today realized that this is real life. These are people that are struggling with
some terrible times - whether thats from job losses, home fires that left them with nothing, and even substance
abuse problems - and now find themselves in a situation where they are now relying on Faith Mission to house
them, to feed them and to help them get back on their feet.
"This isn't how I expected my life to turn out," said one resident to me today while thanking us for serving. "But
if it wasn't for places like Faith Mission and people like you guys, I would not be alive."
Standing there today helping to serve food at Faith Mission enabled me to come full circle in my life. When I
was a kid, my mother and sister and I had to stay in a shelter similar to Faith Mission as we battled poverty
growing up in Benton Harbor, Michigan. To be able to come back as someone who has the ability to create an
organization that allows others to help people who I was once a part of, is truly a miracle for me personally.
I am very proud of the volunteers from Street Kids that came out today, including:
Shane Varga
Amy Varga
Dan Garey
Joe Horvath
Jake Underwood
Lanny Fisher
Scott Martin
Jason Jeffery
Mark Hershberger
Josh Taylor
Todd Marvin
Rich Grundtner
Damian Caffrey
Without the help of these people, as well as the others who take part in Street Kids Care, the work we do
would not be possible. I can have the passion, the desire, the will to want to help others, but I can't do it alone.
Each one of you are doing your part to help make a difference in our community and I thank you so much for
that.
